Cotecna appointed for Kenya’s Pre-Export Verification of Conformity Programme

The contract has been signed on the 19th February 2018 and our operations’ starting date has been fixed for the 1st April 2018.

The PVOC Programme is a conformity assessment programme applied to specific products, in the respective exporting countries, to ensure their compliance with the applicable Kenyan Technical Regulations and mandatory Standards or approved specifications.

The aim of this programme is:

• To ensure the quality of products meet health and safety, and environmental protection for consumers
• To facilitate trade by ensuring that compliant goods are given expedited clearance at the port of entry
• To safeguard the country from unfair trade practices and dumping of substandard goods by ensuring that imported products comply with the same requirements to which locally manufactured goods are subjected
• To safeguard the country’s national security
• To prevent deceptive trade practices

With this regard, our mandate consist in undertaking conformity assessment activities in the country of origin for products being imported into the Republic of Kenya. These activities include one or a combination of the following kinds of verification: inspection, sampling, testing and sealing of full-load containers.  When conformity is demonstrated we will proceed with the issuance of Certificates of Conformity (COC), a mandatory document necessary for Customs clearance. It is important to note that any goods that arrive without a COC will be prohibited from entering the country.

We have been appointed to operate the PVOC programme, in the following four geographical zones:

• Zone 2: mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mongolia
• Zone 4: Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia
• Zone 14: United Arab Emirates
• Zone 16: Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti

For more information, please contact us using or find your local VOC contact using our contact list.